


Dusk

by Judithan



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, M/M, Minor Violence, Warnings May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-03 15:43:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15821961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Judithan/pseuds/Judithan
Summary: Fantasy/Royalty AU::Sonic is the Prince of the Sun Tribe, and with his Coronation upcoming, he finds himself wanting more and more to run from his duties, from his fate.He does, and in doing so, he sets of a whirlwind of events that will change his life, for better or worse.A rewrite of my old fic Daylight, except now with Sonic being the center character, and with some reworkings.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Daylight](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2264511) by [Judithan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Judithan/pseuds/Judithan). 



> This fiction has some similarities with the Sonic Adventure canon, as well as the Sonic Boom canon. Please try to think of the world as some strange combination of the two, except much more 'fantasy'.
> 
> I'm unsure of how graphic I'm going to end up making this fic, and I will update its ratings if necessary.

“Wake up, sleepy head!”

A voice under the blankets grumbled.

“Five more minutes…” A protest resounds, the owner throwing themself deeper into the cocoon of blankets they had made.

“Wake! Up!” The maid had had enough, and pulled the sheets from the bed with a surprising strength. From the blankets emerges one sleepy Prince Sonic, blue hair going every which way, eyes shut tight from the sudden exposure to sunlight.

“Okay! Okay! I'm up already jeez!” Sonic insisted, having fully sprang up from his drowsy stupor. He was barely upright, body propped up on his elbows, but he was up nonetheless.

“Your coronation ceremony is tomorrow, you need to get up and speak with Her Highness. She’s been waiting for you in the dining hall.” With a small huff of annoyance, the maid dismissed herself. Great, just what Sonic needed; a lecture with a probable headache to boot.

After a short while of debating if he should just lay in bed and disregard what the maid had scolded him over, he decided to get up. 

His room was always a nice temperature, the large windows letting in lots of sunlight to help keep the chill of autumn away. In fact, the entire castle seemed to always be a nice temperature compared to outside. 

That all probably had something to do with some magic mumbo-jumbo that Sonic never paid attention to in class. They were always going on about this and that and he really could not have cared any less even if he tried. That sort of stuff had always gone over his head. As long as it kept the world working he didn’t have any reason to complain about it like the elderly did, though.

He threw on a blue hooded short-sleeve shirt, a pair of dark navy pants, and a comfy light grey cardigan. Even though he was only going to have morning breakfast in his own house with his own Mother, he was still expected to always be Properly Dressed, as his childhood behavior instructor called it. Over-caring Nonsense was what it really was, but Sonic learned to hold his tongue.

Putting on his daily assortment of rings and other jewelry, giving his hair a quick brush, and whipping the sleep from his eyes, he decided he was ready enough to go see his Mother.

Tomorrow was his coronation day. A special day, an extremely stressful day, a day Sonic had been dreading for the last who-knows-how-long. It was today that he would have to take the crown’s responsibility.

It was tomorrow that his freedom would be truly striped from him.

The thought alone made him anxious, angry, annoyed, anything besides excited, as his Mother expected him to be. How could he be? This was never something he would be able to do, and yet they expected it of him wholeheartedly.

He had to do something, anything to try and escape this fate. He only had one more day, and then his entire life would be sealed. The thought made him dread.

There was a long standing rule in the castle of “No Running Allowed” and much to Sonic’s dismay, he never cared much for following it. It was so much faster for him to simply blast too and from each place that he couldn’t be bothered with walking.

Within mere seconds, he had arrived at the dining hall, his Mother staring at him with rage strong in her gaze.

“Am I… Interrupting something?” He noticed the two quests she had been talking to.

She was dressed as she was every day: royal crown atop her head, a beautiful yet underwhelming gown, a silk shawl draped over her shoulders. To Sonic it always seemed like overkill, but he supposed that as Queen she had to dress her best every day. Another annoyance.

“No, Sonic, not at all. Please, sit down” Queen Rune, his Mother, states, her tone even and calm from an outside view, but Sonic could hear the silent wrath forming beneath the surface.

He sat himself down across from the guests.

“And who are they?” Taking a chance to, he takes a good look at the two guests. They both seemed to be young… girls? Well, androgynous in their own rights. One of which had long white hair, with fluffy ears sticking up from the top, dressed far too warm for the mild cold of the Sun Tribe. The other had short lavender hair, a piercing gaze, and slick cat-like ears. To say either of them were intimidating would have been a lie, but they both had an aura about them that made Sonic nervous.

“This is Prince Silver, from the Snow Tribe.” Wait- Prince?! “And this is his accompaniment Blaze. They are here visiting from the northern mountains. Do be a dear and  _ behave _ .” She smiled at him, her eyes widening only slightly. When they were gone he would likely be receiving a long, angry lecture. No way he was going to deal with that.

He decided to follow her advice and simply  _ behave _ .

It wasn’t like he was planning on sticking this out to any fruition anyway.

In fact… they’re from the northern mountains? That sounded like a ticket out if he had ever heard one. This was perfect!

“It’s nice to meet you, ah-” Silver extended his hand to shake it, but stopped short upon realizing he hadn’t learned Sonic’s name.

“I’m Prince Sonic. Nice meeting you, too.” Sonic extended his hand the remainder of the way, shaking Silver’s hand firmly. He wore gloves, soft ones, with strange patterning on them - similar to the magic writing he completely forgot how to read from his former lessons. His professor was right, he should have paid attention better. Oh well.

From the corner of his eyes he could see his Mother look on, somewhat amazed, at how well he was socializing. Oh, if only she knew this was just an act to get her to look the other way while he ran off.

It wasn’t like he enjoyed lying deliberately, but this was or more less his last resort.

“Sonic, please, take a seat. I hear that tomorrow is your coronation day?” Silver seems nice, his voice gentle, and Sonic can’t help but feel a small pang of guilt. He couldn’t falter though, he had to pretend as best as he could.

“Uh-huh, yeah. The Big Day, as everyone has been referring to it as.” His Mother shot him a look for the comment, but let it slide without real comment. “Just a bunch of old farts getting excited over nothing, if you ask me.”

Queen Rune was about to scold him, but Silver only chuckled in response.

“Yeah, it’s bit much, isn’t it?” He agreed, the dumb grin on his face reflecting a youth that Sonic hadn’t even considered - just how old was Silver? Oh well, it didn’t really matter.

“Unfortunately I won’t be able to attend the ceremony, I hope you will have it in yourself to forgive me.” Silver bowed deeply, Blaze only giving the smallest hint of an inquisitive look at him. It wasn’t often people offered sincerity to Sonic and he was left somewhat awestruck.

Maybe if this was how life was like all the time it wouldn’t be so bad…

No, he snapped at himself, sincerity doesn’t make up for the shackle that was the throne.

“It’s alright, don’t worry.” Sonic just rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. The treatment he received due to his status always made him feel strange. Even if this was supposedly normal it still felt so stiff and fake. As if some kind of mind game, honestly.

“My liege, we still have duties to uphold for the early afternoon.” Blaze spoke up, voice quiet, cold.

She really did give Sonic a strange vibe.

“Ah, right,” He looked as if a spark went off, eyes lighting up excited. “Your Highness, we must be heading out. There is business we must attend to.” With that, he bowed deeply to the Queen, almost as if trying to be dramatic, but there was a real possibility he was being sincere. Regardless, Sonic wouldn’t put it past him.

“I understand. You’re free to stay in my Tribe for as long as you desire, Prince.” You gave a half-bow in return, as if out of courtesy. Sonic couldn’t understand these sorts of things, and didn’t bother trying to.

Sonic took Silver’s departure as an easy out for himself, insisting on walking them out regardless of Blaze’s counter-arguments of being perfectly aware of how to find the exit. He just wanted to find any excuse to get away from his Mother. He knew that if the two of them were alone together he’d get some lecture about how he needs to get his act together, and frankly he had had enough of it.

“When did the two of you say you were leaving?” Sonic asked as they were just about at the front door. He acted casual, almost disappointed even, that they would be missing his would-be coronation.

“Likely sometime tonight. We’ve got to stop by,” Silver pauses for the briefest of seconds, sharing a glance with Blaze. “Some local businesses, get a feel for the town. This is supposed to be a leisure trip.” Blaze nods sagely, content with his answer.

“Looks like someone needs a lesson in R&R, huh?” Sonic grins, hands placed on the back on his neck, elbows up.

“Hah, I suppose you could say that. It’s never been easy for me to take breaks, I just want to help anyone that I can.”

“While I do commend that in you, my Liege, you are here to take a step back from your duties and relax. It’ll only be for a short while.” Blaze quips, and Sonic can see Silver’s face turning red with embarrassment.

“I know, I know.” Silver whines, obviously annoyed in her remark. She smiles on in good-nature, and Silver returns his attention back to the Prince. “I’m sure you’ve got your own plans to attend to as well, don’t you, Sonic?”

“Eh, not really.” Perhaps it’s a bit too nonchalant, but Silver doesn’t interrogate.

“Regardless, we should be going. It was nice meeting you.” The two of them shake hands once more, and Silver and co depart from the castle. Sonic watches them walk off, getting into a car - not unheard of, but an extreme luxury and incredible to see. For a moment, he feels a pang of jealousy and wants to go with - if nothing else just that he hadn’t taken a car trip in  _ months _ . He wasn’t allowed to drive himself but chauffeurs were just too damn slow.

But above all, he wanted the freedom.

The freedom to simply leave when he chose, to go where he pleased.

He could feel the gaze of the maids and guards on his back as he stood there staring out into the front courtyard of the castle, and he decided it’d be best to return back to his room before any of them questioned him. It was only a matter of time, really.

Walking back, he considered his options: to stay, to become King, to become tethered to a role full of more responsibility than he could ever know - or to leave, to run, to be a traitor to his people. Neither seemed great. In fact, both options were objectively terrible.

Regardless, he knew what he had to do.

He had to leave.

“Sonic! Wait up!” Oh no.

For a moment he considered pretending he hadn’t heard it, but that would be a terrible idea. Turning his head to look over his shoulder, he saw a girl running, fast approaching him.

Elise. The girl who Sonic had been betrothed to. His  _ fiance _ .

“Sonic! Why haven’t you been answering any of the messages I’ve sent you. I know your phone is working just fine, why won’t you ever answer me?!” Solaris have mercy, he could not  _ stand _ to be around her.

Saving Princesses and being a hero were nice and fun, but there was something about her demanding tone and demeanor that made Sonic’s patience snap. In small doses she was fine, like when he had first agreed to this arranged marriage, but with her being around so often and so abrasive he couldn’t take it anymore.

“I’ve been dealing with things for the coronation.” He tries, hoping it gets her to leave it be and go away.

Obviously, that did not work.

“I get that! I want to be there to help you with it.” The first thing that comes to mind is her getting mad at him over whatever the last argument was that they had had. It wasn’t like he hated her but every day it was something or another.

He just needed some breathing room, which he knew he would never be allowed if he stayed. His panic reflexes were truly beginning to work themselves up now. There was no way he could deal with this forever, no way he could be shackled down by arranged marriages and a destiny he never asked for.

‘ _ It won’t be that bad _ .’ Is all he can try and convince himself of, but it’s not working.

“Sonic are you even listening to me?” He wasn’t.

“I’m not feeling well I’m going to go lay down.” Is all he says before walking away, hand clutching his head.

She wasn’t a bad girl, nor was she even that mean, so why did he feel so sick at the idea of being with her?

‘ _ Commitment issues… _ ’

Arriving back at his room, he shut and locked the door behind him. It wasn’t likely that anyone would bother him but he didn’t want to take the chances. This was probably his last chance possible to get out of here and he was desperate.

No matter what or why, he knew he couldn’t stay like this. He had to do something, anything, he had to  _ run _ .

_ ‘There’s no way I’m staying here. They can’t possibly expect me to be okay with living in a cage for the rest of my life!’ _

Looking around for a light, carrying bag, he found a small backpack that had been given to him by his old friend Tails. 

The boy was a cherished childhood friend, being one of the top engineers from Gear, he had gotten to meet him at a gathering his Mother had been the host of -some kind of peace event, but he was too young at the time to remember details. What he did remember though was being young, meeting another incredibly young boy who somehow knew  _ way _ more than him but still thought Sonic was cool for some reason.

It had been such a long time since he had seen Tails, not since his birthday party a few months back. To say time flies would be an understatement.

_ ‘I could go visit him but… that would be too predictable. They would know right away where I would be going.’  _ Sonic debated with himself. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to go visit Tails, but it was by far the most obvious move he could make. Plus, wasn’t he coming up to Sun for the coronation? Damn, that was unfortunate.

He’d have to apologize at some point, probably.

But if this was the cost he’d have to make to obtain his freedom, then maybe it would somehow be worth it. It had to work out.

If nothing else, he could leave a note of some kind. Some kind of apology, some kind of explanation. At the very least he could reassure his Mother he wasn’t kidnapped in the middle of the night or something.

Grabbing a pen and paper, he scribbles down something that is only barely legible to him, due to his hands shaking with adrenaline. ‘ _ This is it, _ ’ he tells himself. ‘ _ After this, I’m free _ .’

He places the note in the middle of his already-made bed.

It was only the middle of the day, he couldn’t leave yet. At the very least, he could kill time by packing his bag full of whatever clothes and other items he would need in his travels. It wasn’t like he really knew what he was doing either, so it took him a fair amount of time to consider what to take with.

Throughout the day maids and other helpful members of the staff stopped by to check on him, but just by staying quiet they assumed that he had gone out. Perfect.

Now all he had left to do was the hardest thing in the world: waiting.


	2. Chapter 2

Night took an eternity to arrive.

It wasn’t as if Sonic didn’t have the capacity for patience, but it certainly was the department he lacked the most in. Things already seemed slow enough as it was, and having to legitimately just wait around for almost four hours for the sun to go down… it was just torture.

Nonetheless, it was finally sun down and Sonic had time to finally get to work.

He took one last look at the note he had written, double and triple checking to make sure it sounded right. 

This was it.

He took a deep breath, steadied his shaking hands, and pushed the window open. The air had a chill to it now, and he let out a cold huff in response and clutched his jacket closer to himself. It was going to be a long night.

Careful footsteps walked out on the partial roofing under his window. He looked around for a moment, making sure that no one was present. Coast clear, he jumped down onto the floor level, letting out a small grunt upon landing. Nothing he couldn’t walk off, he insisted.

Even with a castle full of guards and other staff that had to keep an eye out for him, he managed to slip out with great ease.

Terrific.

With one last mad dash, he ran over and past the fencing that marked the perimeters of the castle. He was out of immediate danger, but he wasn’t safe just yet. He had to get out of town as fast as possible. The front gate would be a danger to try and get through, though, but he couldn’t think of any other holes in the entire Tribe’s defensive walls.

Shit, he didn’t plan this out as well as he had thought.

He was nearing the main road when he spotted a car idling off in the distance.

‘ _ That’s it!’ _

Sonic zipped up to the car, knocking politely on the window. All he had to do was ask this kind soul for a ride out of town, easy as pie!

The passenger rolled down the window, revealing long silver hair, perked up ears.

“Hello there, Prince Sonic, it seems we’ve met again.” It was Silver. Looking to his side, Blaze was in the driver’s seat, looking at him with a humored glint in her eyes. At this point, he couldn’t tell if this was a good thing or not. Perhaps they would help assist him, perhaps they would just drag him back to his Mother. It was a risk he had to take.

“Ah, hiya.” Sonic looked back, surprised and trying to act like he wasn’t panicking.

“These are some strange circumstances you’ve gotten yourself into. Is there a reason you’ve come to us this late, and in this state?” It was perfectly within reason for Silver to be asking him this, but good God he dreaded trying to answer his inquiry with ant legitimacy. He decided a half truth would have to do.

“I - I just wanted to see if you could give me a ride out of town.” Sonic tried, sheepish.

“...A ride out of town?”

“Yeah I, uh, I can’t stay here.” It wasn’t entirely a lie, but he wasn’t sure if it was convincing enough even if it were entirely true. If Silver didn’t believe him, though… he didn’t even want to consider it.

“...I think I understand. Please, get into the back seat.” Silver smiled, nonchalant in his order.

“Don’t have to tell me twice.”

He settled into the back seat with no hesitation, finding it to be very comfortable in fact.

“When you mean to say you can’t stay here, what are you saying, exactly?” Blaze asked, voice quiet, unwavering. The way she spoke wasn't rude, per say, but there was a certain unkind quality to it. Maybe it was Sonic's imagination though.

He swallowed hard, the reality of her question dawning on him.

“Freedom. If I stay here, my freedom will be stripped of me. I can’t stay here.” Sonic’s hands shook as he spoke, his body trembling.

There is a moment of silence, as if Silver is digesting what Sonic had to say.

“...I get it. Don't worry, we'll help you see this through as far as we can. Blaze,” he looked to her, and she nodded in return. “I'm glad you understand as well.”

“You mean it?” He couldn't believe what he was hearing! It was all working out!

“Here, we're going to try and get past the front gates as fast as possible but hide under this. It should be enough of a cover if you curl up under it.” While they were still at a stop Silver unfastened his giant cloak with it's big, fluffy white collar and threw it to the back seat for Sonic. He grabbed it, taking a second to properly curl up half on the floor of the car, half in the seat. With some minor struggling he managed to get the cowl completely over him and in such a way it didn't look staged at a glance.

They were ready to go.

Blaze took off, caring very little about speed laws. She seemed to be a controlled, focused speed freak. Somewhat of a surprise, if Sonic were being honest.

“Don’t make a sound.” She said, coming to a stop.

Sonic couldn’t see anything from under the cowl, but he heard the window roll down, one of the town’s guards speaking through the window.

“Heading out this late?” It wasn’t an interrogation, but there was a hint of suspicion in their voice.

Sonic could feel himself sweating bullets, trying to keep as still as possible. He even went so far as to try and hold his breath, controlling his diaphragm to reduce movement.

“Yes, we’ve got business to attend to back home, so we must be on our way out.” Silver spoke carefully, being as polite and proper as he could be.

“Alright, well just stay safe out there, got it? There are bandits that roam the roads, especially at night. If you’re heading north you should be fine, they don’t pass through there often, but if you go south you’d better make sure you’re prepared.” The guard offers some advice, and Sonic can hear a rustling of sorts, perhaps marking their passports? “Take care of yourselves out there.”

The window is rolled back up and Sonic can feel the movement of the car driving forward. They drive in silence for a while before Silver eventually speaks up.

“You’re in the clear.” He says, a small chuckle to his voice.

“Phew!!” Sonic finally let out the breath he was holding, sighing loudly. He shrugged the cowl off of him, sitting upright in the seat. Clicking the seatbelt on, he let the cowl settle in his lap, admiring the soft fur and plush wool used to make it. To say it was nice was an understatement.

“I can’t even begin to tell you two how much this means to me that you would help me like this.” Sonic says, trying his best to come off sincere and genuine. He’d always had a trouble with that - being so aloof and uncaring by nature.

Silver gave a small laugh in return. “It’s really no problem.”

“No, really, is there any way I can repay you two?” Sonic insisted, looking down to realize exactly what he could do: he began to take his rings off, a small tinkering pool of jewelry forming in his lap. “Here, how about I pay with these.”

Silver looked at him wide eyed.

“It’s okay, I don’t need-”

“That guard said there were bandits out this way anyway. If I’m caught carrying something like this I might as well be as good as robbed anyway.” Sonic handed him the dozen or so precious rings, each of them handle crafted by the royal family’s jewelry vendors. If Sonic had to put an estimate on how much it was all worth, it would probably come out to a small fortune.

“Rings?” Silver asked, inspecting them with a shine in his eyes.

After a moment, he shook his head, realizing just what Sonic was doing.

“Wait, I can’t take these, really-”

“Blaze, can you stop the car up at that junction? I’m gonna hop out there.” Sonic interrupted Silver’s objection. He stammered in response, but ultimately settled for staring at the jewelry that had been bestowed upon him. It was all so beautiful, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

Noticing how bothered Silver was by his payment, Sonic spoke up.

“If it bugs you that much to take them, think of it as a borrow. I’m sure we’ll meet again at some point, how about when we do meet again you make sure to give them back to me?” He noticed Silver’s ears perk up, satisfied in this proposition. “It’ll give us both incentives to stay out of trouble.”

“Silver could certainly use good influences, yes.” Blaze spoke, a certain snark about her.

“Hey!” He gave her a light slug on the arm, and she laughed at his bratty, pouting act. “I behave just fine!”

“Thanks for everything, both of you.” Sonic said, opening the door to the car. It was chilly outside, and he grabbed his sweater tighter to himself. He considered going south, maybe closer to the coast -which he had never seen before- but considering the bandit issue he figured going up into the mountains would give him less trouble.

Plus, with it being so mountainous he was sure he’d find a nice long stretch to rally in, really give himself some running room.

The idea of being able to run wherever he wanted… the freedom, he felt like a huge weight was lifted off his chest.

To be free…  _ it felt great! _

“Sonic, before you go-” Silver rolled his window down, extending a hand out. Sonic approached. “If for whatever reason you get into trouble, don’t hesitate to come to the Snow Tribe. We’re much further north west of here, but we’ll always be open to giving you refuge.” The camaraderie he felt from Silver was real, and it made his chest hurt a bit, a guilt clutching tight at his heart. 

“...Thanks. I won’t forget it.”

To think, just the smallest amount of gratitude, the smallest amount of care, and it felt so much worse simply walking away from Silver than it was walking away from the lifelong commitments his Mother had imposed on him.

She would be so devastated to find him gone.

He couldn’t waver in his decision though.

“Good luck, Sonic the Hedgehog.” Silver smiled, Sonic reciprocated, and took that as his chance to run off.

Far behind him, he heard the roar of the engine as it drove off in the other direction.

This was it, he was on his own now.

“WOOHOO!!!” He shouted, grin wide on his face. He fastened his backpack closer to him and ran off at full-force. Wind blowing through his hair, the bite of cold on his face, it felt exhilarating.

To think, from here on out, this was his life.

It felt unreal.

The mountains didn’t take long to come into true view. They were huge, cavernous, and perfect for running around at mind-boggling speeds.

Growing up, Sonic was never allowed to run through the castle, but he was able to hone his talents through some designated training sessions, but his Mother considered it a useless skill for a ruler to have, and eventually forbade him from pouring more time into it. It was torture, to be able to run faster than _ sound _ , to be  _ named after that skill _ , and then to be  _ denied _ .

But now - he let out a cry of excitement - there were no rules, no chains holding him back.

He could barely contain his excitement.

Time flew by as he raced through the mountains, and it wasn’t long before the moon began to dip back under the horizon. He took that as his sign that it was time to find somewhere to settle in for the night.

Fortunately, there were plenty of caves and overhangs in the vicinity that were unoccupied by monsters or animals. Finding one that suited his need for shelter well enough, he plopped his bag down and got to work unfolding his makeshift bedding - a thick blanket - and a kindling small campfire - some sticks from a nearby tree lit by a lighter he had stashed away. It wasn’t a great camping set up and he knew he would wake up a little sore, but it was worth it.

‘ _ What do I want to do tomorrow? _ ’ He asked himself, and for once, nothing came to mind.

He was free to do whatever he wanted.

It felt, strange, but it wasn’t a bad feeling.

That night, while he fell asleep under the stars, he felt more peace than he had known in years - if ever. This was a feeling he could never get tired of.


End file.
